Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates #22Review

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There's a new gang of Ultimates in town.

By Jesse Schedeen

Even though the worst of the Hydra conflict is over, the Ultimates still face plenty of problems as they work to rebuild a shattered nation. The newest problem crops up in issue #22 in the form of the West Coast Ultimates. It's not bad enough that California remains obstinate in the face of President Cap's reconstruction efforts. Now they have their own super-team to raise a little hell with. As has often been the case with this series of late, the ideas are good, but the execution isn't always there.

The biggest offender in issue #22 is the West Coast Ultimates themselves. This new team doesn't make a strong impression in their first issue. For one thing, it's difficult to see the point of introducing new versions of Black Knight and the Vision when both characters have already been Ultimatized in other forms. As for Wonder Man, the decision to recast him as a malfunctioning, Hulk-prone super-soldier strips away a lot of what makes the traditional character so interesting. About the only standout member of the entire bunch is Quake, who also happens to be the most similar to her classic Marvel counterpart.

Luckily, the rest of the issue finds more success. The subplot involving Thor and Invisible Woman's hunt for the Infinity Gems has picked up steam now that it no longer feels like an afterthought in the story. The two characters enjoy a strong dynamic, and the conflict promises to heat up in the next issue. There's a fun scene between Tony Stark and his sentient brain tumor. Anthony has basically become Tony's little brother and superhero sidekick at this point, which is both creepy and sweet.

I'm also enjoying the continued look at Cap's presidency and his no-nonsense attitude toward policy decisions. I do wish, however, that Humphries wouldn't paint the representatives from California in such a villainous light. They have legitimate grievances with the US government, and I don't think there's anything to be gained by painting them as power-hungry secessionists at this point.

Joe Bennett takes over the art for this story. His heavily muscled figures are at times more extreme than I'd like from the Ultimate Universe, but his dynamic camera angles lend a nicely cinematic flair to the story. In terms of costume design, there needs to be more consistency between Bennett's work and previous artists. For instance, Thor has magically traded Mjolnir for his artificial axe-hammer again since his previous appearance.